German intelligence warns of potential NATO risks from Russia

According to the weekly Zeit's website, during an event hosted by the German Council on Foreign Relations, Kahl suggested that military confrontation is increasingly becoming a plausible option for the Kremlin.

He believes that by the end of the decade, the Russian military will have the personnel and resources necessary to launch an attack on the West.

According to Kahl, a large-scale attack on European NATO countries is not anticipated. Instead, Russia might attempt to undermine the obligation to provide assistance as defined in the North Atlantic Treaty, which would, he noted, lead to the collapse of the Western alliance.

Kahl referred to BND assessments indicating that high-ranking Russian officials currently question whether the commitment to collective defence under Article 5 would be honoured in an exceptional situation.

The head of BND mentioned that Russia currently has no specific signs of war intentions.

If such views prevail in the Russian leadership, the risk of a military conflict in the coming years will also increase - added the BND head.

As a possible scenario, Kahl mentioned a limited intervention involving "little green men" in the Baltic countries under the pretext of protecting the Russian minority. Kahl said Russia aims to defeat NATO as a defence alliance. From Russia's perspective, this goal would be accomplished if Article 5 proved ineffective in the event of an attack.

Kahl also suggested that Russia will try to divide NATO before an eventual outbreak of war. This could happen, for example, by Russia swaying individual member states of the Alliance to its side.

The head of BND claims that Vladimir Putin "will test the West’s red lines and escalate further."